Page 46 of Unexpectedly Falling
“But you still need a hell of a lot of talent,” I say seriously. “You don’t make it as far as you have without the hard workandthe talent.”
“Sounds like you looked me up, Sheriff.”
I lift a shoulder and let it drop. “I might have checked out a couple of clips online.”
She’d impressed the hell out of me with her agility and speed and how natural she looked on the field.
“Anyway,” she starts again, “when we weren’t in soccer and tennis camp, we’d go up to the lake house and spend as much time as we could on the water. We always took Scarlett with us. Her dad was never around, and her mom tried hard to give them a good life but it was hard.”
“Where’s your aunt now?”
“She passed away before Scarlett would have met you. My cousin had wanted so badly tolive the good lifethat she traded her independence and youth for a man that only wanted to control her and keep her away from us. It’s easy to see it for what it was now, but back then we thought she was happy. When my aunt got sick, it was a wakeup call for Scarlett—she finally was able to leave her abusive ex and spend the last few days with her mom.”
“Your aunt was sick?”
“Congestive heart failure,” Nessa says somberly.
“Did Scarlett ever tell you she was pregnant?”
“No, we only talked every once in a while. I think she was embarrassed about cutting everyone off—being in that situation—but she was working hard, you know? She texted me a couple of weeks before Remi was born and asked if we could get together once my season was over.” Her breath catches as she adds, “She said she had something she wanted to show me.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“And yours,” she murmurs as she walks in front of me and tilts my head from one side to the other.
I close my eyes, the urge to stare at her breasts too much, especially with how they’re practically in my face. And nowreallyisn’t the time.
Instead, I let myself enjoy the way her nails rake against my scalp and inhale the addictive scent of her perfume.
“What would you have done?” Nessa asks, setting the clippers down and taking the seat next to me. She tucks one leg under her, turning her body toward me as she waits for me to answer.
“I…don’t know. I would have been there for Scarlett, would have wanted to share custody, but I don’t know what that would have looked like.”
“You wouldn’t have dated and fallen in love?”
“It’s hard to completely rule it out, but I don’t think so. We had a good time, but our interaction wasn’t very deep.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” she deadpans and I drop my head back and laugh, studying the wooden slats on the ceiling before sitting up again.
“Hilarious.”
“I do think I’m pretty funny.”
“Uh-huh, but clearly my performance wasn’t an issue,” I quip, motioning at the monitor on the side table. Nessa snickers and I have to fight an eye roll because if I give in to this playfulness, I’m going to end up hauling her into my lap, and I sure as hell won’t want to stop there.
“Just becauseyoufinished doesn’t meanshedid,” she says with a glint in her eye.
“Listen, Trouble, you might know how to play the field but I can assure you, I am nothing if not a gentleman, especially when it concerns a woman’s pleasure.”
She tries to hide it, but I see the little shiver that races through her.
“You talk an awfully big game, Sheriff,” Nessa says as she stands, and I don’t hate the way she’s lookin’ down on me.
“You started it, Miss Hart.”
“And I’ll be sure to finish it all on my own.”
I groan and she chuckles all the way inside.
